Circumferential stiffeners, or frames, serve in particular to provide stiffening of an aircraft fuselage, for example, an aeroplane fuselage, in the circumferential direction. Conventional frames are usually designed as C- or Z-profiles with a web, from which extend an inner flange and an outer flange, and are connected via a shear comb or clip with a skin section of the fuselage. In addition the frames are usually supported in each case via brackets or cleats on a foot section of longitudinal stiffeners, or stringers, which are designed to prevent any lateral buckling of the frames at high-pressure loadings, in particular on the inner flange. Connection of the shear combs and the brackets to the frames, and also to the skin sections or foot sections, conventionally takes place via rivets. What is disadvantageous concerning this method of frame connection is in particular the high number of individual parts, i.e. the shear combs, brackets and rivets, and the complex assembly that thereby results, as well as the relatively high fuselage weight.
A frame connection without brackets is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 7,325,771. For this purpose the frames are designed with a symmetrical C-profile as fiber reinforced composite components and are connected solely via shear combs to plane connecting surfaces on the fuselage; the latter are formed in each case from lengthwise contiguous foot sections of adjacent longitudinal stiffeners. In particular in the case of fiber reinforced composite frames that are optimized for weight and thus asymmetrical, whose flanges have different lengths and/or thicknesses, prevention of lateral buckling of the frames at high pressure loadings on the inner flange cannot however be achieved with this solution. Moreover shear combs continue to be required for purposes of connecting the frames.